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[orchestral flourish unfolds]
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[chalk scuffing]
[horns honking]
[sirens blaring]
[bottle fizzes]
[sirens wailing]
[interviewer] Ready?
[Greg] I don't see the interpreter.
[Bridgetta] What's the microphone for?
[engines roaring]
[Jerry] I usually sign about right here.
Yep, about right here.
But I move a lot when I get emotional.
[wheels clattering]
[metallic screeching]
[Tim] I think it's probably better if I use my glasses.
Okay.
I think I can be okay without them.
[interviewer] Everybody ready?
Yes! Finally!
I have a story to tell.
[vehicle roars past]
[distant sirens wailing]
[abrupt silence]
[Jerry] I was in my girlfriend's room.
All of a sudden…
the lights started flickering…
[thudding reverberates]
…and I could feel a vibration.
Someone was kicking at the door…
which means "Hurry up, hurry up!"
So I went quickly to the door…
and went downstairs to the entrance of the campus.
[crowd chanting]
[percussive music]
[reporter] We're going live to Gallaudet University,
where students are protesting
because they want a say in their school's future.
A new president is about to be named
and the students want one of their own at the top.
[abrupt silence]
[horn honks]
[Greg] I was on my way back from KFC.
Eating from the bag while driving.
[percussive music]
I was also signing with the other hand,
but I was dating a hearing girl, and she was freaking out.
She was like, "Deaf driver, oh gosh! Eyes on the road."
I'm like, "Chill."
[muffled thump reverberating]
[Greg] When I got to campus…
[muffled thumps reverberating]
…people were banging
on the hood of my car.
[reporter] Students here have been demonstrating and waiting all day
outside the gates of Gallaudet University,
while inside the board of trustees have been meeting.
Now, if students get their way,
the university is going to have its first Deaf president
in 124 years.
[abrupt silence]
So I was walking down the hill, and I saw tons of people.
[crowd cheering]
There was all this excitement in the air.
And I thought to myself, "They're going to pick a Deaf person."
[reporter] Gallaudet is the only university for the Deaf in the world,
and has never had a non-hearing president in its 124-year history.
[reporter 2] In 1864, Abraham Lincoln signed a law
founding the first college in the world for Deaf students.
It's the right time. Come on.
[crowd clamoring]
[electronic music]
Someone had brought a box over.
It was a bunch of flyers.
Someone gave me a piece of paper.
I saw the paper…
picked it up, read it.
[abrupt silence]
[crowd shouting]
See, I told you.
Hearing people.
I looked around and all of a sudden…
[crowd shouting]
[reporter] There's a firestorm this evening at Gallaudet University.
The school's board of trustees
bypassed two Deaf candidates for the school's presidency…
in favor of a woman who can hear.
I refuse to accept this.
[reporter 2] Among the finalists, two Deaf men,
Harvey Corson and I. King Jordan,
Dean of Gallaudet's College of Arts and Sciences.
The controversy centers around the third candidate,
a hearing woman, Elisabeth Zinser.
[Jerry] It was impossible that they chose hearing, not Deaf.
Oh, they were so angry.
They felt insulted.
[Greg] They wanted violence.
My first thought was, "control."
They were totally out of control, completely out of hand.
[interviewer] I look at footage of you then,
and you're pretty fucking cool.
I was a lot thinner.
[crowd jeering]
And so I stood up and I said, "Hey everyone, sit down."
And everyone did.
[crowd murmuring]
I am as insulted as you all
when they tell us that Deaf people
are not qualified!
[crowd cheering]
[interviewer] I see an individual who is fired up…
and ready to throw down.
Were you born that way?
[Jerry] To other people,
I was an innocent angel, but my parents were like, "Uh, no."
I was a little demon from hell.
[interviewer] Let me clarify, you're not an angel?
Well, I have a little bit of a halo,
but it's tarnished a little.
It's a little crooked.
My father was the best dental lab technician around.
A lot of people went there because of my dad,
but they had no idea that he was Deaf.
The lab technicians would say,
"Oh, that's really embarrassing to have this Deaf person work with us."
so they put him in the basement.
And that's where he would work every day.
He was never allowed to sit upstairs.
[interviewer] Was he bitter?
[Jerry] Deaf people were used to that back then.
They just took it.
But I'm not going to accept that.
[rhythmic music]
How upset are you?
[crowd roars]
How upset?
[crowd roars deafeningly]
Better.
That's not gonna happen to me.
The world can't stop us!
[crowd cheers]
[reporter] This controversy has shined a spotlight
on a group of people who have been used to doing their business
without the glare of publicity:
the board of trustees at Gallaudet University.
I asked them to send one person to explain to us,
and they said, "We're busy."
[student] Bullshit!
[Bridgetta] The board members,
they didn't want to have a public confrontation,
which means we're nothing to them.
That's their attitude.
So, we were like, "Where's the board? Where is the board? Where?"
We wanna know why!
We want an explanation!
But I know where the board of trustees are.
[vigorous music]
[reporter] Angry students marched to the Mayflower Hotel
where some of the board of trustees were scheduled to dine.
[Jerry] I was in the front.
I led everyone.
I guess the students just chose me.
[Greg] I was the student body president,
but I was inaugurated just a few days before.
We can't let that happen! We can't! Can't!
So I was pushed into the water without knowing how to swim.
Feels like a slap in our face.
[Greg] A lot of people started coming up to me.
Like I'm responsible.
They're looking at me as the guide, like, "Guide me. What's next?"
[interviewer] Who was in charge?
I was.
[students shouting]
[crowd jeering]
The board is on the 3rd floor.
You know what they are doing?
They're sitting around eating this nice meal,
making fun of the students.
Don't let the board leave without addressing us.
[all yelling]
[crowd clamoring distantly]
[reporter] Students now have their eye on the chairman of the board of trustees,
Jane Bassett Spilman.
[crowd roaring distantly]
Ugh, that woman.
[reporter] There's a lot of anger, and we still don't understand,
and it seems to me we should have chosen a Deaf president.
[Jerry] She was the epitome of snobbery and wealth.
Dressed in her Admiralty clothing.
[reporter] You are representing the Deaf nation.
[crowd chanting]
[Bridgetta] It was chaotic.
Everybody was signing at the same time.
[shouting intensifies]
[Bridgetta] We needed crowd control.
[deep thud reverberates]
[deep thud]
[crowd shouting angrily]
According to DC police, you'll be arrested.
It's your decision.
[Bridgetta] So I decided to take over the stage.
The police feel the crowd is too close.
I need you to give us space.
[deep rhythmic thudding]
I hear nothing.
I am totally deaf…
[thudding continues faintly]
…but I have rhythm in me.
I know how to follow a beat.
[rhythmic thudding intensifies]
You can move and follow music because you can feel it.
["Hey Mickey" by Toni Basil]
[Bridgetta] In high school, I was a cheerleader.
[music abruptly stops, rhythmic thuds]
[music resumes] ♪ Hey Mickey ♪
♪ Oh, Mickey you're so fine You're so fine, you blow my mind ♪
♪ Hey Mickey… ♪
We had a Pac-Man dance.
♪ Oh, Mickey you're so fine You're so fine, you blow my mind… ♪
There's a joke within our community.
If you get in the car and you turn on the radio
and we're like, "Yeah, music, yeah…"
and it's the news.
[interviewer laughs]
["Hey Mickey" continues]
[Bridgetta] Movement and rhythm…
is everything.
["Hey Mickey" drumbeat]
Spilman out! Spilman out!
Spilman out!
[Bridgetta] I realized what we needed was rhythm
to keep everyone on the same beat.
Spilman out!
[crowd chanting continues]
[chanting dissipates]
You guys are successful.
The board will listen to you now.
[crowd cheering]
[Jerry] So Spilman agreed to talk to the students.
And the police say they'll be around her, they'll protect her.
I came to say, my name is Jane Bassett Spilman.
I'm chairman of the board of trustees at Gallaudet.
[young Tim] Excuse me, Jane.
Excuse me, we are not satisfied
with the decision that you've recently made.
Now, you owe them an explanation…
[Tim] When I met with Spilman, I was angry.
We had Deaf candidates. We were ready for it.
They were good candidates.
Two to one.
Two Deaf candidates to one hearing.
[young Tim] And I think that they should be owed an explanation by you.
Now, Tim, what you wanted me to do
was to come down here and talk to these people.
[Tim] She was very prim and proper.
[Spilman] You wanted me to talk to the students.
Like a stereotypical lady from England.
Like…
if you're having a tea party.
Let me do something. Let's chat a minute first
and then let's see if we can't talk about that in a minute, okay?
[Spilman] Now, I think it's about time
for you all to maybe go back to Gallaudet,
and let's have a quiet evening--
- [student] Bullshit! - [crowd jeering]
Calm down.
[student] I have a question. I have a question.
Can you sign? Can you sign?
- [Spilman] No, I do not-- - [crowd roars]
She had no understanding
of anything related to Deaf people.
Nothing.
[Spilman] All right.
[young Tim] Jane, if I could just say something…
So I asked, "Why?
Why did you appoint Zinser?"
And then she said,
"Deaf people are not ready to function
in a hearing world."
What?
Did she actually say that?
She said that?
And the interpreter said, "You heard it right."
[crowd shouting]
[Greg] We wanted to scream out.
[muffled shouting]
But how do you scream out…
in our language?
["Fight the Power" by Public Enemy]
[news anchor] Their world may be silent, but their anger tonight
is loud and clear.
I am so damn angry that this makes me sick.
[news anchor 2] We talk to Dr. Zinser from her home in Greensboro.
[Zinser] I would want them to know that I am privileged
to serve as president of that great university.
We've waited for 124 years.
Why, why? Hearing, why?
I just started burning inside.
As you can see behind me,
several hundred Gallaudet students have started to gather
inside the campus gym.
[Zinser] Having said that, I don't think that we can look
at one characteristic of an individual,
Deaf or hearing,
as being, in and of itself, a qualification for a position.
♪ We've got to fight the powers that be ♪
[crowd roaring]
[Greg] We got together in a group,
in a small circle, discussing, "What do we do next?"
Something must be done,
but what?
Should we have a rally tomorrow or not?
Should we do this? No, we shouldn't do that.
[interviewer] So what did you do?
♪ Fight the power… ♪
We will make many people pissed off.
[music abruptly stops]
[deep bass rumbling]
[music resumes] ♪ Fight the power ♪
Which store?
Go to the one on Florida Street.
[Tim] It wasn't just about getting a Deaf president.
It was more than that.
Hearing people always push us down.
["Fight the Power" continues]
[reporter] Students claim the board of trustees
simply is prejudiced against Deaf people.
Go now!
[Jerry] The time was now to light a match.
♪ Fight the power… ♪
Lynda, a question before you go:
Do the students have any chance at all
of turning the decision around?
According to board president Spilman
this is a final decision. They're not going to change their minds.
♪ Fight the power… ♪
[Greg] The fire ignited.
[student] It's now or never. We want it now.
We want a Deaf president now.
♪ Fight the power ♪
♪ We've got to fight the powers that b-- ♪
[abrupt silence]
[faint electronic beeping]
[Tim] My grandfather called me
on the TTY.
A machine that we use to make phone calls.
GA means "go ahead,
it's your turn to start typing."
But he doesn't type very fast.
[TTY beeps and keys clack]
My grandfather said…
Oh, Lord.
He didn't say it, but I know what he was thinking.
Just accept it.
Keep your head down.
My parents divorced when I was six years old.
My father figure, really, was my grandfather.
He went to Columbia University in the 1930s.
There was no interpreter.
He had to lip-read,
but he graduated with three different degrees.
So he had very high expectations of me.
[reflective music]
If we were signing out in public, he didn't like it.
He would always tell me,
"Sign in, like, an 18-inch box. Nothing bigger."
And so I was like, "Okay, let me slowly,
gradually sign bigger and bigger."
That was like a death wish.
He would say, "It's very important that you fit in to the hearing world."
I was thinking, "Why?
I shouldn't have to fit in to the hearing world.
I have my own world."
[birds cawing]
[reporter] On an age sometimes driven by angry,
noisy demonstrations…
their protest, like their world,
was largely one of eerie silence.
[protesters cheering]
[reporter] The charge made by students at Gallaudet University for the Deaf
is that their school administration refuses to listen.
And so the students
have closed the school down.
[rhythmic music]
We locked all the gates.
[Tim] And students used buses…
to block any entrance to the campus.
[student] Who are you? Are you security?
Do you work here? Are you staff?
It's almost like in the military, you have, like, full deployment.
You set out your base.
[reporter] Are the students prepared to continue blocking the entrance?
That's for sure.
We'd give up our soul in order to get a Deaf president.
We were the law of the land.
[spirited cheering]
[news anchor] Students are particularly incensed
by the university trustees' Chairman Jane Bassett Spilman…
who defended the selection of a president who doesn't know sign language, saying,
"Deaf people are not ready to function
in the hearing world."
[Spilman] That erroneous statement, allegedly--
"Deaf people cannot function in the hearing world,"
which is patently untrue.
- [interviewer] You didn't say that? - I did not say that.
I was misinterpreted, misrepresented.
What did you say?
Well, I was working through an interpreter, of course.
And it was… [laughs] very unique circumstances
with the helicopters overhead
and the thousand students outside of the window
screaming and yelling.
It was a wild time.
And so, what I said,
I cannot tell you what I said, because I don't remember with all of that.
- You have a home in Bassett, Virginia. - Three.
[interviewer] Well, you had three homes to run to,
to hide from all this.
Right.
[interviewer] Did you ever think, "Let me get out of here"?
Not one time.
I'm the kind of person that believes…
that you set your course of what you think is right…
and come hell or high water, you stick by that course.
[crowd] We want a Deaf president now!
We want a Deaf president now!
[administrator] The board is very pleased to meet with you
with one consideration, that's all,
that you open the campus.
[crowd] No!
[young Tim] Deaf president first, then we will open the campus.
[interviewer] So the board says they won't meet
unless you open the campus.
Yeah, that's what they said.
- [administrator] Can I finish? - [crowd jeering]
[young Tim] No.
[administrator] Then I guess there's no discussion. Bye.
If you don't wanna negotiate…
[interviewer] So what did you say?
[administrator] All they're asking is that you open the campus
- during that meeting. - [crowd jeering]
[news anchor] The students rejected a trustee's offer to meet with them
if students allowed Gallaudet to reopen.
[news anchor 2] Many buildings were empty.
The chalkboards in one classroom told the story.
"No classes today," it said,
calling anyone who attended a traitor.
[Jerry] But on that Monday,
a lot of students, they were resistant.
They didn't want to get in trouble.
They were scared it was gonna hurt their grades.
And some students didn't believe a Deaf person could do it.
I'd be like explaining to them, you know, "We need to convince them."
And they said, "No, I don't think we can have a Deaf president.
We can't do that."
[Greg] That was in the back of my mind.
I was worried sick.
I didn't show it, but I felt it in my stomach.
[interviewer] Were you scared?
Ha ha ha.
No.
[indistinct chatter]
[man in suit] Who is the man in charge of the keys?
[administrator] If there's a student spokesperson,
they'll listen more to that.
Who's the-- Who's the spokesperson?
[rhythmic music]
[Greg] And that's when we decided that we needed
to pick a leader.
[young Tim] Okay. Now, it's time for us here to pick a Deaf president…
[interviewer] Describe Tim.
Very enthusiastic, energetic.
We would like Spilman removed as the chair of the board.
[Bridgetta] It was all men.
And I kept forcing myself to jump in because I had to.
[young Bridgetta] Spilman maybe has finances…
[interviewer] How would you describe Bridgetta?
[young Bridgetta] …but she doesn't really have a heart for Deaf people.
Strong.
[exhales]
[Tim] A woman's liberal.
Bridgetta would always assert her "women's issues."
Jerry and the other people in the class, they were like,
"Oh, Bridgetta's always bringing up women's rights, women's rights."
I support women, I'm a feminist.
Somebody said, "If there's one lifeboat that's full of Deaf men,
or one lifeboat full of hearing women,
which one would you jump into?"
I support a female president
but Deaf comes first.
[interviewer] Describe Jerry.
[rhythmic music]
The time is now. Enough with the oppression!
He was so emotional. Gets mad easily.
Punching against the wall
instead of finding the key to open the door.
Greg, on the other hand…
was the extreme opposite.
He was more rational.
[interviewer] What kind of person is Greg?
You really want to get into that?
[interviewer] Yeah.
[Jerry] Greg is very quiet.
He just signs small.
[Jerry] He doesn't show much emotion at all.
He's not really outspoken like me.
My energy flies from my hands out to other people.
[Jerry] I can rouse up an audience.
[crowd cheering enthusiastically]
And then we all agreed
that Greg Hlibok would be the leader.
We were all in agreement. No question.
I felt that he was not the right person.
[news anchor] Greg Hlibok was an ordinary engineering student
at Gallaudet University.
He received the armband that now symbolizes their cause.
He is the leader of a movement.
[crowd cheers]
[young Greg] …live with this until we get…
until we get it.
I felt it was given to someone who really didn't know the difference
between a hole in the floor and their asshole.
[indistinct chatter]
[Tim] But we knew we would lose without a plan.
I'm not the one making decisions,
I'm only controlling the meeting, and that's it.
Meaning I will decide who speaks.
[Tim] So we met with a lot of faculty, staff, alumni
who had tried for years to get a Deaf president.
And so they were there to advise the students.
So, what's next?
What do you students plan to do?
And so we came up with four demands. Four.
Number one… a Deaf president.
We'll do nothing until we have a Deaf president.
Two… Spilman resigns from the board.
Three… fifty-one percent of the board must be Deaf.
And they strongly suggested adding a fourth demand:
no reprisals.
So the students felt safer to be involved.
We will continue to push through
until the demands are met.
That's what the students want, right?
[Bridgetta] But most important, we can't be divided.
We have to stay together, stick together, stay strong.
Open up this-this gate here. There'll be no problem.
Just open up this gate. We want this gate open.
[young Jerry] Why should we?
[Jerry] But then they tried to look for another way to get into the campus.
They secretly cut the fence…
and they got through.
And I can assume they were like, "Oh, we got in."
Then they realized
we had locked those offices as well.
[administrator] Can you stop that please?
[student] No. Keep rolling.
I'm trying to negotiate. Can we just talk for a second?
[Jerry] But then we were informed
that Spilman and the board
would be willing to talk with us.
There's no texting.
So how we get all the students together…
we pull all the fire alarms.
And everyone would know
to go outside.
[reflective music]
[Greg] I remember looking out the window,
and I could just see the sea of people.
I mean hundreds, all over the fields,
waiting for Spilman.
[interviewer] In that moment, what did Gallaudet mean to you?
That's real interesting.
I feel like crying.
[scattered distant cheers]
[Jerry] Think about it here.
I'm an alien here.
You're all hearing.
[scattered cheers, whooping]
But when I came into Gallaudet…
it's home. It's my world.
[reflective music continues]
[Greg] When I went to Gallaudet as a freshman,
it was a mecca.
There's students from all walks of life who come to Gallaudet,
and they find each other.
[Bridgetta] International students come from across the world to come here.
Because there's only one place like this in the world.
Where Deaf people can be Deaf.
When I got there, I felt so moved.
It's like going to another country,
and everyone's speaking a different language.
[Jerry] How can you describe feeling comfortable,
safe,
like you're with your family?
[reflective music continues]
[Jerry] The light of the Deaf community…
is Gallaudet.
So we couldn't accept a leader
who didn't understand our world.
[Greg] We were waiting for Spilman to come into the room…
[scattered clapping]
…to see what she was going to say.
When she says her first line, you listen.
If she's not going to change the decision
then we walk out.
[students jeer]
Good afternoon, everybody.
Yesterday, the board of trustees of Gallaudet
selected a new president.
In the judgment of the majority of the board of trustees,
Dr. Elisabeth Zinser fitted these criteria
with the exception,
and I will admit it is an important exception,
but with the exception
of an understanding and wide knowledge of Deafness,
she fitted this criteria.
However…
this woman is deeply committed to being a part of this institution.
She is deeply committed to serving you
as a fine, successful president.
[interviewer] How would you sign what Spilman was doing?
This hand is the underdog.
And this is the power.
[Spilman] She is deeply committed to working with you
and being a strong advocate for Deaf people everywhere.
[scattered heckling]
I just had a meeting with the board.
They refused to meet with our demands.
[crowd roars angrily]
[Bridgetta] Hearing people think that they are superior.
[crowd continues roaring angrily]
We actually have a word for this:
audist.
[angry roaring intensifies]
[Bridgetta] Sometimes they're not aware that they're being audist,
but sometimes they are.
[angry roaring continues]
And then, somebody pulled the fire alarms.
[abrupt silence]
[alarm bells blaring]
It's awfully difficult to talk above this loud noise.
[abrupt silence]
124 years.
Enough!
- [alarm bells blaring] - [crowd shouting]
[abrupt silence]
Time is now.
No bullshit.
- [alarm bells blaring] - [crowd shouting]
[abrupt silence]
Deaf President Now
- [alarm bells blaring] - [crowd shouting]
[abrupt silence]
Not for me. Wasn't loud for me.
[alarm bells blaring]
[Greg] If she was able to sign, she wouldn't have had a problem.
[woman singing] ♪ Silent night ♪
♪ Holy night ♪
♪ All is calm ♪
♪ All is bright… ♪
[Greg] So I grew up in a Deaf environment.
A barrier-free environment.
♪ Holy infant so tender and mild… ♪
[Greg] At that time, TV didn't have captions.
So one of the best moments of my life
was sitting around the kitchen table, signing with each other.
Hours on end.
[Greg] We'd bang on that table.
Things have been spilled on that table,
because when you're signing, your hands hit things
and spill stuff on the table.
But growing up, my parents noticed
I was able to hear a little bit.
So I tried using hearing aids,
that helped me to speak a little better.
I could talk on the phone, but really, I would only call my grandma.
[reflective music]
And somebody said, "Hello?"
"Hello?" "Oh, I caught that."
"How are you?" "Good."
"How's your day? How's the weather?"
I felt to myself like, "Oh!"
It's kind of an ego boost, right? "I can do this."
And so my father said, "You're going to a public school."
He thought that Deaf school was less than.
He graduated in engineering without an interpreter.
He just read everything by himself.
He thought, "It doesn't matter if you're Deaf."
It was just, "Try to speak…
try to lip-read…
do your best."
[muffled speech]
[Greg] In the classroom, the teacher would be speaking.
[muffled speech]
I would just fake nod, to pretend like I knew what was going on.
[muffled speech]
[Greg] I could catch a few words here or there.
[faintly] Rocket.
But then if the teacher would turn away,
look at the blackboard and be talking,
I wouldn't know what's going on.
So I was told to move to the front.
The kids would say…
"You have broken ears."
And so, my world became really dark.
[muffled speech]
[Greg] This was the hearing world…
[reflective music]
…and I wasn't one of them.
[car horn honks]
[sustained honk]
[reporter] Just after two o'clock this afternoon,
the rumor spread that President Zinser was coming to campus.
[interviewer] So day three…
Zinser says that she's going to come to campus.
How did you react to that?
[car horns honking]
[reporter] Hundreds of students crowded the front gate with greetings.
[reporter] What do you say to your students
who say, "We're not going to be able to respect you"
because you are not one of them?
[Zinser] I believe that once we become acquainted,
it will be a relationship that will be a very warm one
and a very productive one.
[scattered booing]
[reporter 2] Elisabeth Zinser's background includes undergraduate
and masters degrees in nursing.
But no experience with Deaf people.
[news anchor] Dr. Zinser, just so I understand,
you're a trained nurse and you have a PhD.
To us, she wasn't qualified.
Qualifications means you understand Deaf culture and you're Deaf.
[young Greg] She's not invited. She's not welcome at this university.
It's not her university.
The police want to open this one gate.
Okay, now we gotta be more careful.
How is she planning to get into the campus?
[administrator] Can a cab get in?
[young Tim] Okay, we need to see who the people are inside the cabs,
because the thing is, we don't want Jane Bassett Spilman and Zinser coming in.
[reporter] It's come to this, students peeking through squad cars
to see if the newly-named president is trying to sneak onto campus.
Stop.
Open the trunk.
"No Zinser. Fine. You can go on campus."
[news anchor] And they were not playing Finder Keeper.
The words were "find her, dump her!"
We were like a secret military base,
where you have an army with a mirror searching under cars.
[reporter] Only a few vehicles permitted through student barricades.
Stop.
"No Zinser."
[reporter] All day, rumors swept the campus.
Zinser was to be brought in in a helicopter
and left somewhere on campus.
So I actually had students run around watching the helicopter.
If they saw it landing, they were going to lay on the ground.
[young Tim] We will block Zinser from coming in, period,
until we see a Deaf president out there.
We will warmly welcome that person to come in.
That is for sure, no one else.
[crowd cheering]
[reporter] King Jordan, Dean of Arts and Science at Gallaudet
and one of the candidates rejected for president,
joined the protesters to offer his support.
I applied for the position of president.
I'm a Deaf man. I think it's very clear that I would like
to see Gallaudet University have a Deaf president.
[crowd cheers]
[interviewer] When you showed up to the campus,
honestly, honestly, honestly,
did you believe that the students would succeed?
No.
[young Jordan] Okay.
[upbeat music]
Hello, I'm I. King Jordan.
I think a lot of us didn't believe that the students would succeed.
I'm very, very happy with the work that's been going on
in the last eight months. But ready to, uh…
[scoffs, laughs]
[Tim] What kind of man was I. King Jordan?
He seemed very nice, very polite.
The smile and the warmth.
[young Jordan] I always try to make the same message.
Stop focusing on the "dis-" in disability.
[Greg] Anyone who took a class under him said
that he was a great professor.
So what you do is use the formula
for Z Y prime minus…
- [student] Y. - Y prime, good.
He was deaf…
but not Deaf deaf.
Now I can't hear anything.
I mean nothing. I have no sound.
If a jet plane was right there, I wouldn't be able to hear it.
- Nothing. - [interviewer] Zero.
Zero, zero.
All my life, I'd been a hearing person,
but I bought a motorcycle.
And one night when I was riding home,
I hit a car.
When I woke up, there was no sound.
I was told to go to Gallaudet and that will help me.
My first day, I was trying to sign,
and some of the guys around would make fun of me.
In my first class, I sat down and watched the professor…
and he didn't even move his lips.
He just--
Oh, my God, how am I gonna do this?
[Jordan] I was really the odd man out.
We are a big family. A powerful family. And I want…
[Jordan] Students were very supportive of me as president.
But there are people in the Deaf community
who say I'm not really Deaf.
[young Jordan] If you are willing to work with me,
we can prove to the world that Deaf people can do anything.
Thank you.
And there are people in the hearing community
who don't understand what it's like for me to be Deaf.
So I'm not sure I really have one foot in each world.
I'm… I'm teetering.
[percussive music]
[Zinser] Today is the day in which I'm going to attempt
to establish the communication that is needed with the students
and ask them to give me an opportunity
to interact with them on a personal level.
[Jordan] On Tuesday afternoon, I got a request
from my immediate supervisor
to help Zinser meet with the student leaders.
So I went to the students
and I told them about the phone call.
They asked to meet with us on campus and we said, "No."
And they asked, "Well, what do you want to do?"
I said, "We'll meet, but on a neutral territory."
[reporter] Now, behind me, the students are just getting the word
that there is a meeting between student leaders
and Dr. Zinser.
The students were like, "Stay strong. Be stubborn. Fight!"
[crowd cheering]
[Jordan] Picture your typical cheap motel.
[Greg] Zinser came in.
She had a power suit on. Dressed for success.
Very authoritative. This gusto about her.
[Jordan] And the whole idea was for her to show her strength.
"I am in charge."
But then she started to speak.
[abrupt silence]
[Bridgetta] And she kept saying, "I will do a lot of good for you.
Don't worry.
I'm here to help."
[Greg] She comes from a medical background
and so her lens
on Deafness is…
that there's something to fix.
[Jerry] And it's the same old thing, over and over…
for years and years.
"I need to help you.
I need to do this for you."
[Greg] "Let's fix your broken ears."
There is this philosophy…
so that the Deaf may speak.
[Greg] It all started with Alexander Graham Bell.
[interviewer] I thought he was supposed to be some American hero?
Once you know the other side of who he was,
you might have a different opinion of him.
[Jerry] His wife was Deaf. His mother was also Deaf.
And his biggest issue was how society looked down upon them.
He viewed them as something to fix.
So he tried to enforce this shift in Deaf education.
[British narrator] The world has been a silent place.
There is no such thing as a sound.
They don't even know what a word is.
Without words, there can be no thoughts,
only feelings, with nothing to join them together.
[Greg] When I went to school,
they required speech class every single day.
[Tim] I would be in class, and they would pull me out
to go to speech.
[narrator] He will have 3,000 hours of individual speech training,
learning the mouth movements of the words he cannot hear.
I had to put my hand on the teacher's nose.
[narrator] He is learning to feel the breath stream
made by different sounds, using a mirror to recognize the lip movements.
Pretty good. Make it tight.
[Bridgetta] I was the poster child for Speech Therapy Month.
They advertised:
"This is the girl who's going to learn how to speak and hear."
[narrator] With a number of devices developed by the Bell Telephone Labs,
the children are tested to find the exact degree
of their hearing loss.
Specially trained teachers work with them.
I would pick up my headset with my transmitter
that I would wear on my chest.
[muffled chatter]
[narrator] The microphone link direct from the teacher
to the children's hearing aids
amplifies that sound they hear.
[very muffled chatter]
[Tim] We were forbidden from using sign language,
but when the teacher looked away we would sign down low to each other
until the teacher looked back.
If we put a child in a signing environment,
he's gonna learn to sign.
If we put a child in a talking environment, he's going to have to talk.
And it's not cruel to do that.
If you signed, they would smack your hands with a ruler.
I was able to figure out the CH sound.
The teachers were thrilled.
"Oh, you can say 'ch' sound."
Then the teacher would stop the class
and call the other teachers from other classrooms
to come to the hallway
and they were like, "Say it again. Do you mind saying 'ch' again?"
And everyone was like, "Wow!"
I felt a boost of self-esteem from that.
[silence]
And then in the fifth grade, I was in a play.
A Christmas Carol.
And there was no signing.
It was only speech…
[silence]
…and some hearing people came,
and they were giving us a round of applause,
as if we did an awesome job.
I felt so good.
And so at the end of the play,
we were like, "Did you understand any of that?"
And the hearing people had said…
[children speaking with difficulty]
[Greg] …"We didn't understand any of it."
[children speaking with difficulty]
[reflective music]
They forced us to be hearing and think like a hearing person.
I mAy A CrISmAs CarD.
[teacher] I want you to pause.
[boy] I mAy…
[Bridgetta] Teachers had informed my parents,
"Your daughter is not progressing well."
It was almost like, "You don't hear or speak?
You're stupid."
[girl] KrIstIn FeL a CoW wA--
[teacher] Okay, but you forgot part of it.
[reflective music continues]
[Tim] Sign language is its own language.
Signing is so important to me.
It's who we are.
[Bridgetta] They view Deaf people as something bad.
[Jerry] As a defect,
an error.
As hearing impaired.
We are not impaired.
[abrupt silence]
[Greg] Zinser said,
"I will get a teacher to teach me sign language,
I will learn how to sign.
I'll be able to communicate with you in a couple of months."
[Tim] You don't get it.
It takes years to learn sign language.
You have to live, sleep, eat and breathe with Deaf people
to understand the frustration, and the oppression.
Everything she said, they said, "No, no, no."
[Jordan] "Not acceptable, not possible.
You can't be president of Gallaudet ever."
I was really amazed.
So we left.
What she was trying to do failed.
[crowd chatter, drum beating]
[Greg] So we got back to campus.
And in that moment,
there was such a deep sense of connection.
This sense of empowerment emerged.
[percussive music]
We started to believe in ourselves.
Like, we were gonna win.
[interpreter] The team leaders, these are our team leaders.
[music swells]
We saw hope.
[speaker] Dr. Zinser is, I am told, en route…
to the Press Club.
And should be arriving shortly,
but we didn't want to delay you any longer,
and Mrs. Spilman is present to begin the proceedings.
[car horn honks]
[Jordan] Zinser was in the front seat, I sat in the back seat.
I could see her holding her phone and talking.
[abrupt silence]
And I didn't have an interpreter.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
The purpose of this briefing
is for the board of trustees of Gallaudet University
to make a statement.
And I say, "You can drop me off at Gallaudet."
And she said, "No.
We're going to the National Press Club."
I was locked in the car.
- Together, we're united. - [crowd cheers]
Hello, Dr. Zinser.
[Jordan] Much to my surprise, my immediate supervisor
grabbed me and said, "Okay, now you need to go up
and you need to support the board."
And now I would like to introduce to you…
Dr. King Jordan.
And, King, maybe you might have a word or two
you'd like to have with these people.
I want you to know that I must do what's in the best interest
of Gallaudet University itself.
Therefore, it's my responsibility as a dean
to give her any support I can in that effort.
[abrupt silence]
[reporter] Are you asking students to stop protesting?
This, uh-- This has been a very difficult position for me,
I want you to know.
I regret very much that I've become any kind of focus here.
[Jordan] That was really hard for me.
Remember, I was a dean, so they could fire me in a minute.
[reporter] Do you think the time has come for the protest to stop?
Yes I do, yes I do.
[silence]
I think it's time to enter into a meaningful dialogue
with the new seventh president of Gallaudet.
Thank you.
[Greg] I was in a state of shock.
We were trying to do a lot for him,
and then in this moment you pull that crap
and you switch sides?
This has been a very difficult position for me,
I want you to know.
You're weak, so weak, look at this!
We're here to support you.
It's my responsibility as a dean to give her any support I can
in that effort.
[Bridgetta] I felt betrayed.
[Greg] I thought to myself,
"He's not really Deaf."
The values that were instilled in him through his upbringing
were based in a hearing world, and that stuck with him.
If he was born deaf, I don't think he would've been a traitor.
I was simply a candidate for the position,
and because I'm Deaf,
then I've become more of a focus than I should have become.
[news anchor] On campus, students were kept apprised
of what was being said in the news conference.
[Greg] It was such a low point for us.
[Zinser] I am expecting the students to help to educate me
about Deafness and about sign, which I am beginning to do right now.
[Bridgetta] They always win.
[Greg] For the students, it amplified their anger.
[Zinser] At this point, things are a bit out of control,
as you know.
The governance system on the campus has broken down.
[crowd yelling]
[Zinser] If it gets any further out of control,
I will have to take action in order to bring it under control.
[distant siren wailing]
[news anchor] Our top story this evening, members of the board of trustees
spent the day in planning sessions
aimed at a strategy to take control of the Gallaudet campus.
[Bridgetta] We kept saying, "No violence, no damage.
No violence, no damage."
Apparently, we're gonna have to arrest a bunch of people.
[siren wailing]
[crowd chanting]
[Bridgetta] We already had that stereotype,
"If they don't speak, then they're stupid."
And so, now, do we wanna add violence?
Move from the sidewalk, sir.
[crowd yelling]
[Greg] The media was there with their cameras.
If we'd riot, then we've lost all support.
We need outside support, especially the media.
There are a lot of cameras on us.
The threats, intimidations, demonstrations, disorders…
[young Tim] All that I wanna know is what's gonna happen exactly
before you do anything.
[interviewer] This is an editorial. "The students don't seem to understand
the damage that this venture into activism may do
to the school's reputation."
So the police struck a student in the face.
Whoever wrote that…
screw you.
[news anchor] The American taxpayers, I understand,
are paying 75 percent of the cost of the school.
What if Congress said, "We're going to cut off federal funding
unless you all get back to classes"?
What if everything blows up…
to the point where Congress withdraws funding?
Gallaudet will shut down.
[silence]
[distant traffic humming]
[Greg] By Wednesday,
we had lost three nights of sleep.
[Greg] We didn't eat a whole lot.
And so, people were worn out.
I'm sure you're feeling drained
so I want to keep this meeting short--
[Greg] Someone informed us that we had been offered an interview
that evening on national TV.
Possibly one million viewers.
And so they asked me to go on air, live,
with Zinser.
[interviewer] Did you wish it was you?
[abrupt silence]
[Greg] In the limo, I was very nervous.
It was a huge responsibility for me.
This was our last chance to be heard.
So I put on my hearing aid.
[muffled traffic rumbling]
- [muffled siren wailing] - [Greg] I like to hear
because I like to have that surrounding awareness.
[crew] Okay, we're coming up on one minute to air.
[crew chattering]
- [man] You let me know when you're ready? - [man 2] We're rolling.
[muffled chatter]
[news anchor] The charge made by students at Gallaudet University for the Deaf
is that their school administration refuses to listen,
and so the students have closed the school down.
[Bridgetta] I was with my friends in my dorm.
Many students were together in multiple rooms.
[news anchor] She will be among our guests, and so too
will be the president of the Gallaudet student body, Greg Hlibok.
[crew] Nine, eight, seven, six…
[muffled] …five, four, three, two, one.
[muffled chatter]
[man] And into it.
[Nightline theme plays]
[announcer] This is ABC News Nightline,
reporting from Washington, Ted Koppel.
You may find it momentarily distracting,
but if ever the content of a program
ought to be accessible to the nation's hearing impaired,
this one tonight is it.
A great many Deaf or hearing impaired people
don't have access to a closed caption set, so tonight you can all read along.
[man] We're live in 90 seconds.
[Greg] There were just so many things to think about,
all these thoughts were flying around in my head.
And then the media relations were giving me feedback,
and there was makeup, and everyone's tapping me.
And I was like, "No, no, no, this is too much.
I just need to focus."
[muffled crew chatter]
[chaotic music]
[Greg] Then I told myself…
"I'm Deaf.
That's who I am.
All that I can do…"
[crew counting down]
[Greg] "…is be myself."
- [crew] Four, three, two, one. - [overlapping voices]
[abrupt silence]
[Koppel] Dr. Zinser…
doesn't there come a point where you have to say
the university has got to be able to do its business,
and if it can't do it with me, it's gonna have to do it with someone else?
I believe at the present time
that a very strong sentiment is being sent to me
with regard to asking me to step down
but I am not convinced at this point that that is uniform.
I've had many indications of support…
[interviewer] How did Zinser do?
[Jerry] She was very professional.
I have had indications of support from King Jordan.
Very calm.
Now, Greg, let me ask you this.
Would you be prepared
to create some kind of a solution that will be to everyone's benefit?
What's happening now is to no one's.
Okay, Ted, um…
my remarks now are addressed to Dr. Zinser
because I really feel it's important to address what she said.
Well, let me ask you to be a little more directly responsive
to the question that I asked you, and that is,
since there's been all this talk about dialogue,
would it be possible for example tomorrow, for you…
[interviewer] How did Greg do?
It was almost like,
"You're talking about me, and I'm on national TV…"
He was insecure.
[Koppel] …to sit down and try and work something out.
We're coming to the end of the school year,
I'm sure a lot of people's lives are being disrupted here.
Cannot something be done by dialogue, even at this point?
[Greg] I was sitting, and I was thinking, "This is really not good."
Maybe I was just scared.
[Zinser] So I'm committed to assuming the responsibilities
that I agreed to assume last Sunday night,
until such time as the board of trustees may elect to ask me to step aside…
[Jerry] He just took it.
[Zinser] …I've taken the position, having been invited to serve as president…
[Jerry] His mentality was the same as most Deaf people.
[Jerry] Just like my father.
"You're gonna put me in the basement? Fine."
He just accepted it.
[Jerry] It's just habit.
They've just taken it so long,
and they have this strong belief,
Deaf people are not capable of anything.
Do what you're told.
Stay where you are.
They internalize being told they can't their whole life.
And that's why that word, "can't"…
[abrupt silence]
…it's just stuck in their heads.
[silence]
[Koppel] Dr. Zinser,
I know you can understand it, because you're an empathetic person.
Can you understand it to the point
that you might even say,
"If it's that important
to all these people, I would step down"?
The board of trustees has the authority to make a judgment
about who should be the next president. I'm not in a position to do that.
[Koppel] Down to the last 30 seconds.
Thank you, Ted. I do believe
that Deaf individuals have great capacities--
Then prove it!
May I finish-- May I finish my statement?
I truly believe-- I believe very strongly
that a Deaf individual one day--
No, that's old news. I'm tired of that statement.
"One day," again and again. "Someday, a Deaf person…"
We've gotta break this cycle.
We've been hearing this for 124 years.
We're getting tired of hearing this statement.
And then he finally started to speak up.
This is just a cycle.
Every time a new president comes in, they say, "Well, one day."
Past presidents have always said that. "Someday…"
[Koppel] I'll tell you what, yeah, we're gonna go over a little bit.
Dr. Zinser needs to have a chance to respond to this.
Thank you, Ted. I want to indicate that the university deserves
to have the continuing strength into the future,
- whether-- - [young Greg] Excuse me.
Are you implying that a Deaf person can't continue that for the future?
[Zinser] Not at all.
Greg, I apologize for making a statement that aggravated you.
His signing got much more emotional.
So this shows that the past presidents
have failed then, if they haven't provided any Deaf leaders.
[Jerry] He found his voice.
Okay, remember, the board's got 17 hearing people.
Almost all of them cannot sign at all.
All of them don't know anything about Deaf people.
They come in and meet, three times a year, they vote on things, and then leave.
I want to be as Deaf as I can be.
They don't know anything about Deafness
so Dr. Zinser should not follow the board of trustees.
They should follow what our demands and desires are because we know.
[Koppel] All right, folks, I'm afraid we really do
have to bring this to a conclusion right now.
That's our report for tonight, I'm Ted Kop--
[abrupt silence]
[birds chirping]
[car horn honking]
["Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO]
[multiple car horns honking]
[car horns continue honking]
♪ Sun is shinin' in the sky There ain't a cloud in sight… ♪
[news anchor] Students gain strength as car horns they can't hear
blare support for their cause.
♪ And don't you know It's a beautiful… ♪
People were waving out their windows.
♪ Runnin' down the avenue See how the sun-- ♪
- [microphone thuds, music stops] - It was like-- oh, oh, sorry about that.
Sorry.
It's a hearing thing, I know.
[music resumes] ♪ Mr. Blue Sky… ♪
I opened up the newspaper, the front page.
♪ …for so long Where did we go wrong?… ♪
I got chills.
What started as a student protest
at the nation's only liberal arts college for the Deaf
is commanding national attention tonight.
I'm in sympathy with the students.
I think it's imperative.
I think it's a good idea.
It just exploded and it was strong.
[telephones ringing]
[news anchor] And more calls came from across the nation
pledging support and dollars.
[man] Financial contributions can be sent
to National Association of the Deaf, care of the Deaf President Now campaign.
[news anchor] In fact, the students claim to have already collected
in excess of $27,000 for their cause.
[young Greg] We are becoming stronger
and we are becoming bigger and bigger as a group.
People were continuously asking me for interviews.
[news anchor] Greg "Hle-bok".
[news anchor 2] Greg Hlibok.
He is Greg "Hill-bok."
Someone came over and handed me a microphone
and I said, "Oh, no, I don't need that. No, I'm good. Thank you."
[news anchor] Don't you think they had the best interest
of the university in mind?
No.
♪ Hey there, Mr. Blue… ♪
[news anchor] It's our understanding
that there are busloads of people from all over the country
who are coming in here to participate.
[young Tim] We're not only receiving reports
from across the country, but around the world.
In Sweden, Germany, Africa.
We got a fax from China.
I didn't understand the Chinese language,
but there was a picture of this person cheering.
It's the beginning of our civil rights movement.
[news anchor] When you say Gallaudet students
have been oppressed, what do you mean by that?
[young Greg] Do white people speak for Black people at the university?
[Tim] There were a lot of African Americans
on the street cheering us on.
They understood.
[news anchor] For many years, the Deaf have been a rather passive minority.
This week, they've been a rather demanding one.
♪ Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why… ♪
[young Greg] Hearing people tell us what they can do for us.
They tend to say that, "We will help you,"
but what we're asking for…
- Is to do it yourselves? - Yes.
["Mr. Blue Sky" continues]
[congressman] We express our disappointment
in the action of the trustees. The students of Gallaudet are right.
The time has come for the trustees to admit that they made a mistake.
We're not gonna stop.
We are gonna continue to fight.
[Greg] Before, we were in the dark…
[crowd chanting]
…so now the world could see us.
We're getting stronger and stronger
and we're really strong now.
["Mr. Blue Sky" fades]
[crowd cheering]
[Jordan] Until that point, I thought it was just a student protest.
And it took me a little time
to understand this is not just a protest.
This is a revolution.
And I sat there thinking,
"What have I done?
I'm dean now…
but I will be Deaf forever."
[young Jordan] Yesterday,
I gave a statement recognizing the legal authority of the board
to name the president of Gallaudet University.
In fact, my personal reaction to the board's decision
was and is anger.
I must now publicly affirm my support
for the point of view held by the Gallaudet community.
Then King says, "I made a mistake,"
and we're like, "Oh, oh."
[young Jordan] We often say that the best teacher
is a good learner.
Gallaudet University has been learning a great deal from its students.
They have become our teachers.
All Deaf people owe Gallaudet students a debt of gratitude
for insisting that our time is now.
[crowd roars]
[reporter] Joining me now live, here at Gallaudet
is one of the student leaders, Bridget Bourne.
Can you give us some student reaction
to Dr. Jordan's change of heart?
[Bridgetta] He had this awakening.
It was like, "I get it."
He became a better, new Deaf person.
He realized that instead of, "Oh, I've lost…"
No.
It's okay to be Deaf.
[orchestral music]
[reporter] Yesterday you stood with President Zinser.
Tonight, if they're watching
or if you have a message for them, what would it be?
I would ask Dr. Zinser to look into her heart…
to look at what's happening around the nation,
and really think very seriously
about what this means to the Deaf world.
[musical swell]
[abrupt silence]
[TTY beeping]
[Zinser] I arrived at Gallaudet University
to find a growing crisis.
[Greg] I woke up…
Apparently the night before, when everyone was asleep,
there had been a press conference.
[Zinser] The symbol of this office is so significant
that we must respond to that larger issue.
I concluded therefore
that the best way to restore order
was to tender my resignation.
[silence]
Wow, she actually resigned!
And everyone said, "The TTY, it's for you."
So I had to go across campus.
[suspenseful music]
And when I got into the van they stepped on it.
I didn't even have a chance to close the door.
The TTY was in a glass cubicle.
Like a mini fishbowl, and everyone's staring at me.
[keyboard clacking, TTY beeping]
[Jerry] I was right next to Greg.
It was me, Tim, Bridgetta, the four of us.
We were really close.
[Greg] And it said, "Who are your siblings?"
To verify I'm not some imposter on the keyboard.
[board member] …Jane Bassett Spilman.
She does have a statement to share with you.
Mrs. Spilman?
[Spilman] Good evening.
There was, as we have all come to realize this week,
a serious gap in our understanding
of the complexity of the problems we faced.
In the minds of some, I have become an obstacle
to the future of the university.
And because I care very deeply about Gallaudet's future,
I am removing that obstacle.
Today, I submitted my resignation.
[Greg] The cubicle was just shaking.
The TTY just started to have random characters running across it.
[Spilman] The board was not simply
called upon to select a president,
but to aid in the consummation of a dream.
The elevation of a Deaf person
to the presidency
of the greatest educational institution
of the Deaf and hearing impaired
in the world.
[TTY beeping frantically]
[musical swell]
[Spilman] The students and their leaders:
Tim,
Bridgetta,
Greg,
Jerry.
You have found unity,
built strength and purpose,
shown courage,
and discovered power
to affect your own future.
[crowd cheering]
[news anchor] Students at Gallaudet University tonight
are hailing what they are calling the start of a brave new era.
[reporter] There will be no reprisals against the students
for their protest,
and a majority of Deaf people will be put on the board.
[crowd chanting] King! King! King!
[young Jordan] This week, we can truly say
that we, together and united,
have overcome our own reluctance to stand for our rights.
[crowd cheering triumphantly]
Deaf Power!
Deaf Power! Deaf Power!
Deaf Power! Deaf Power! Deaf Power!
[cheers and applause]
How do I feel?
Out of this world.
I can't explain it.
I just felt so proud.
I had never been so proud
to be Deaf.
We are one!
[Jerry] We just forgot
everything that happened between us that week.
We hear all the time, "You can't, you can't."
We're like, "No, not this time.
Deaf can."
[Bridgetta] I was looking around thinking,
being Deaf in a hearing world, it doesn't stop you from anything.
You will remember this forever!
[Tim] I talked to my grandfather.
He said, "You were right."
My heart felt heavy.
To see my grandfather say that to me.
I must have done something right.
[students cheering]
[music swells]
The world thinks we're nothing!
Are we nothing?
[crowd] No!
- Are we nothing? - [crowd] No!
[abrupt silence]
We will be heard!
[silence]
[percussive music]
[orchestral music]